


Winter

by hexmaniacchoco



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Author Is Sleep Deprived, Blizzards & Snowstorms, Cabins, Castiel Loves Dean Winchester, Dean Has Feelings For Castiel, Dean Winchester Loves Castiel, Fireplaces, First Kiss, Hypothermia, M/M, Winter, and wanted to write a short Valentine's 'trapped in a blizzard' fic, but oh well
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-15
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-03-18 23:42:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13692306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hexmaniacchoco/pseuds/hexmaniacchoco
Summary: Dean and Cas have just finished what was supposed to be an easy case involving a ghost picking off hikers who wander into its cabin on the mountains. But when a blizzard strikes, nature reminds them that perfectly natural elements can always make things a little more complicated.





	Winter

Dean shivered slightly and rubbed his arms. His breath formed clouds that lingered in front of his face for a few moments before dissipating into the icy air. What had started out as a simple salt ‘n burn case took a turn for the worse when an unexpected storm front rolled in, trapping them on the mountain. The case itself was simple enough; a few hikers had gone missing, and after Sam did some digging around he came across a local legend about a haunted cabin in the area. The unlucky hikers had just chosen the wrong place to take a rest stop in. Dean figured that he and Cas would be enough, so Sam stayed behind to keep helping Jack work on strengthening his control over his powers. And they had been. They found the remains buried under the floorboards of the cabin--those of a man from the days of westward expansion, bitter from the betrayal of his traveling party who killed him to save on rations or something like that. A fierce and icy wind blasted the cabin and it quaked and furniture was thrown at them, but Dean managed to burn the remains while Cas covered him. 

And then the blizzard started. And it hadn’t stopped. Thankfully Baby was parked at the bottom since the forest rangers wouldn’t let them drive her up the trail, but that was a small comfort that didn’t help himself or Cas any. The wind howled eerily outside. It almost sounded like a pack of wolves circling them, daring them to just try and come outside, which, no thank you. Dean still had confidence that the storm would let up soon enough and they could finally start the climb back down the trails. He shuffled over to where Cas was gathering the wooden debris from the smashed furniture into a large stone fireplace and bent down to help him. The cabin was freezing cold, so the faster they got the fire started the better. 

“Our Dad always did tell us never to underestimate a mountain’s weather,” he brought up, just for the sake of talking. 

Cas glanced at him and the corner of his lips turned up into a small smile. “Yes… it’s quite an unpredictable climate.” 

“You ain’t kidding.” 

They carried on in a comfortable silence after that until finally there was a good amount of wood in the fireplace and a supply stashed to the side to keep it going as needed. Dean pulled out his Zippo while Cas squirted lighter fluid on the wood pile, and once he was finished, carefully held his lighter to it to ignite it. It took a few moments, but soon the flames spread and a crackling fire roared to life. Dean pocketed his Zippo again and rubbed his hands together over the fire eagerly, enjoying the warmth returning to his fingertips. 

“Careful, Dean,” Cas warned him. “The lighter fluid may cause the fire to grow suddenly. You should probably not have your hands directly over it.” 

Dean smirked. “I’ll be fine, Cas. This isn’t exactly my first time doing this.” At Cas’ questioning look, he continued, “Sammy and I, we grew up all over the place, and a lotta those places were cold in the winter. ...Well, maybe not this cold, not all the time, but every now and then Dad couldn’t get a room for the three of us and found out-of-the-way places like this where we could all stay the night instead. We’d build a fire just like this to keep warm in the winter, and it was kinda nice actually, sometimes, the three of us together like that.” 

“You turned a memory of hardship into something good, something cherished.” 

“Sometimes you gotta. But getting to spend that time with our Dad, it was something Sam and I were happy enough to weather a bit of well… weather for.” 

Dean watched Cas’ eyes crinkle as he smiled, and something warm rose up inside him. He slapped his shoulder, but left his hand there. He almost expected Cas to move away, but he didn’t, and it was nice. The situation they were in didn’t seem so inconveniencing anymore. He let himself lean a little closer to Cas, telling himself it was because he was so warm, listening as Cas told him about some cherished memories of his own. So they sat in front of the fire for some time, until finally Dean’s eyelids started growing heavier along with his weight against Cas’ side. 

“There’s a small cot over by the back wall. You should get some sleep,” Cas told him. When Dean didn’t respond, he shook him gently, quietly calling his name, “Dean.” 

“Yeah yeah, I know Cas. A small cot, sleep. It was only a few seconds,” Dean mumbled. 

“It was five minutes.” 

“What? No.” 

“And 37 seconds.” 

Dean groaned. Where they were now, he was more than comfortable. But he supposed Cas might not exactly want to just sit there the whole night while Dean slept on him, and that didn’t come out right… He shambled to his feet and walked over to the mentioned cot, and climbed in. Almost immediately he shut his eyes and his breathing began to slow. He thought he heard Cas chuckle, and a moment later something was draped over him. 

The next thing he knew, he was being roughly shaken, and when he opened his eyes, Cas was standing over him telling them they needed to get out of the cabin. The air was thick and hot and dark, and his eyes and nose and throat started to burn. Cas didn’t wait for him to put it together and sat him up, pulled him out of the bed, and guided him out the door. The air was bitterly cold in sharp contrast, and Dean jolted awake. He spun around to see flames licking the walls inside the cabin and out and black smoke pouring out of the door, and a sense of dread filled him. 

“Cas, what happened?” he managed to ask. 

“A stray ember must have fallen through the cracks in the floor when I wasn’t looking. The fire had spread before I could stop it. Dean, I’m sorry...” Cas explained. Dean could clearly see the apology and concern written on his face. 

“It’s not your fault Cas, so you don’t have to apologize,” he replied, shaking his head. He turned toward the trail leading back to the area where they left Baby. Night had fallen, and it was pitch dark. He sighed. “Guess we might as well start back to the car. At least the snow’s stopped.” 

“That’s true,” Cas agreed. “And I can keep us on the trail.” 

They started moving down where Cas said the path was, leaving the cabin behind them. They lost a duffel and some salt, as well as the rest of the lighter fluid, which was probably what sped up the fire’s progress in the first place. But the important thing was that they were both fine. They had plenty of salt and such in Baby’s trunk anyway. Speaking of, he hoped they reached the Impala sooner rather than later. It had only taken them an hour or two to reach the cabin, but that was before a few feet of snow managed to fall. It had already started soaking through Dean’s jeans and he grew increasingly uncomfortable as they trudged forth through the snow. 

What seemed like a long time later, Dean was shivering again, and his teeth were chattering. He had slowed a little behind Cas, and when Cas noticed this he slowed down as well. “Uh… a-about... how far are we, a-anyway?” Dean asked him. He staunchly ignored the concern that appeared in Cas’ expression because it probably meant what he didn’t want to hear--that they’d not gotten very far at all. 

“We’re about a quarter of the way down, maybe a little less. It’s been about 45 minutes...Dean, are you alright?” 

“Y-yeah, no, I’m fine C-cas. Just-t getting a little c-cold. I’ll be fine,” Dean replied. Cas’ concern seemed to only deepen at his words, and Dean surmised it was because he couldn’t actually say them without adding an extra syllable or two. “A… All we can do is k-keep moving f-forward anyway-y.” 

Cas frowned, but they started moving again. He walked alongside Dean, staying close, and placed a hand on Dean’s back. Before he could ask, warmth suddenly sprang from Cas’ palm and fingers. It spread through Dean’s body and he let out a content sigh.

“I’ll try to use my grace to keep you warm,” Cas explained, pre-empting the question sitting on Dean’s tongue. 

They continued slowly down the mountain like that, and for a while it was fine. Eventually though, Dean noticed the cold biting at his legs again in random places, and those patches of cold started to spread. Soon, the frigid air began to feel almost as if it were burning his lungs. He looked over at Cas, who happened to be looking at him again with the same worried look from earlier. 

“You ok, Cas?” Dean asked. 

“I’m fine, Dean. I’m not affected by the cold, so don’t worry about me. How are you?” 

“I’m fine. I can handle mys-self. You don’t gotta exhaust yourself for my sake.” 

Cas rolled his eyes. “I’m not… I’m not ‘exhausting’ myself, Dean. It’s just not as easy as I’d hoped to regulate your body temperature,” he said. 

Dean laughed. “Yeah well, I’m not a lizard, C-cas. L-last I checked I’m capable of d-doing that on my own.” 

“Not in this weather.” 

“Cas.” 

“We’re a little more than halfway there now. I’m guessing it’ll take another hour and a half or so before we reach the car.” 

Dean groaned. His legs were aching and he wanted to just be there already, sitting in the soft leather seats of Baby, the heater turned on full blast warming them up, Cas next to him adding to that warmth like when they were in front of the fireplace-turned-traitor. He felt a small amount of warmth flood through him again, but the effect wasn’t as substantial as it’d been an hour before. He shot a wary look in Cas’ direction and found it mirrored on Cas’ face. Arguing more seemed more trouble than it was worth though, so he kept moving instead. 

It felt like much later when he noticed that his limbs started to ache more and his fingers and ears burned. Shortly after that, and he began to feel heavier and became wearier. Part of him knew that wasn’t good news at all, and if he could think a little more clearly maybe something about that being the cause of Cas’ apparent unease. He stumbled, and Cas caught him. 

“Just a little further Dean. We’re almost there. Just another half hour or so.” 

“Yeah-h,” was Dean’s only reply. 

Cas moved his arm from Dean’s back to around his shoulder, while his other hand held Dean’s side. He thought he felt something warm extend past the touch, but he couldn’t tell for sure. After another couple of feet, he stumbled again. He felt Cas move to catch him, but his knees buckled and he fell to the ground anyway. 

“Dean!” 

“I’m fine… Cas. I’m just… tired,” Dean tried to say. He knew he shouldn’t, but closing his eyes felt relieving, like they were finally sheltered from the wind and if he kept them closed a little longer, just until they stopped stinging, he’d be fine. His legs felt sort of numb, and his jeans were stiff around them where the snow had reached. Somehow though, he also felt something like heat as he lay in the pit of snow his body had created by falling into it. It was surprisingly comfortable. If he stayed there for a moment, he’d-- 

He felt himself lifted, and the wind bit his face. Cas’ voice was in his ear. “Don’t fall asleep, Dean. Try to stay awake as best you can.” 

“I’m not, Cas,” he answered. He sucked in a deep breath and with effort opened his eyes to find Cas carrying him in his arms as he continued down the trail. “I g-got it from here, C-cas,” he slurred. 

“Tell me more about when you and Sam were kids,” Cas said, ignoring him. 

“Cas.” 

“No, I wasn’t there.” 

“Cas.” 

“Dean.” 

Dean sighed, but gave up. He knew Cas was trying to keep him awake by getting him to talk. Besides, while it wasn’t a strong sensation, being in Cas’ arms was warmer than walking on his own. He fought the urge to curl up though. He tried to think of another story to tell instead, but it was hard when he only wanted to focus on how much more comfortable he felt at the moment. The wind blew at his face and despite himself, he tried to tuck it into Cas neck. His skin was as warm as if they were still in the cabin, and Dean couldn’t stop himself from pressing his face further against him. He felt the slight brush of Cas’ hair where Dean’s face reached it, and for some reason that brought a story to mind. 

“Sam a-always wanted a dog…” he murmured. 

“Did he ever get one?” 

“When h-he ran away, y-yeah-h…” 

He heard Cas chuckle, and as he spoke he could feel the vibrations from his voice. There was something soothing about it, and he missed a few words when Cas asked him something about Sam running away. 

“Yeah, he… h-he wanted to…” Dean wasn’t sure if that answer sufficed for Cas’ question, whatever it was. Cas asked him something else, but he couldn’t hear what it was. He asked Cas to repeat it, and his voice sounded almost growling, it was so deep. He realized his eyes had been closed against Cas’ neck, so he reluctantly pulled his face away and opened his eyes to look at him. To his surprise, he saw the furry face of a dog. It woofed at him, and it was strange because it sounded like Cas’ voice if Cas were a dog. He laughed a little, and reached up to pat its head. It turned its head to the side curiously, but this time it spoke. 

“Dean…?” 

Dean blinked at he was looking at Cas again. 

“What are you doing?” 

Dean stared at him in confusion for a few moments before replying. “I don’t-t… I don’t kn-know.” 

“We’re just about there, so hang on.” 

“You were a dog a second ago.” 

Cas stopped for just a moment, but when he continued again it felt like he was moving faster. “You were probably hallucinating. That can sometimes occur with the onset of hypothermia. We need to get you out of the cold as soon as possible.” 

Dean’s face started stinging again so he closed his eyes and tucked it back into the crook of Cas’ neck, and simply hummed his reply. He heard Cas saying something again, but he somehow missed it. He thought of asking Cas to repeat himself, but the words didn’t want to leave his mouth. Cas stopped talking though, so it was probably fine. 

“Dean.” 

Dean realized Cas wasn’t carrying him anymore. 

“Dean!” 

He was sitting on something, and his head was resting against something hard and cold. It was uncomfortable, so he pulled his head away from it. He felt a hand on the side of his face. Cas’? Was he sitting too? Why were they sitting? 

“Dean, how are you feeling?” 

Dean opened his eyes and rubbed them sluggishly, and saw that they were in the Impala now. Warm air was blowing out of the vents, and he could feel his body again. 

“Cas?” Cas was sitting in the driver’s seat, turned toward Dean. The Impala was pulled over somewhere, but it was no longer where they had parked it, so Cas must have driven it. Dean looked around. “What happened?” 

“I tried to keep you warm, but your body temperature kept dropping faster than I could safely raise it. Once we got back to the Impala, I cleared the snow around it and drove it--carefully, so don’t worry about it, Dean--but I drove it back to the town at the base,” Cas answered him. He seemed more at ease now, and Dean found it amusing that Cas felt the need to include the detail that he drove Baby carefully. He laughed softly. 

Cas continued. “Once the heaters were warm enough, I healed the damage done to your body by the cold. Dean… I’m glad that… If it had been much longer, I was afraid…” 

Dean sat up more and turned so he could face Cas. Cas’ hand was still on the side of his face, so he placed his own hand over it, keeping Cas from pulling it away when he muttered an apology and tried to. “Well I’m fine now, and it’s thanks to you. So uh… thanks, and stop worrying,” Dean told him. 

A short silence passed between them, and Cas smiled. “Let’s find a better place for you to get some sleep, Dean,” he said. He turned to face the road and start the car, but Dean reached out and turned his face back toward him. Cas’ eyebrows drew together in confusion. Dean leaned forward, pulling Cas a little closer toward him as well, and it was almost easy, like when he curled up and practically buried his face in Cas’ neck. This time though, he brushed his lips against Cas’, and he heard Cas’ breath catch at the same time his own did. He wasn’t entirely sure what in particular made him do it, but before he could start to doubt himself he pushed forward into a proper kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> You can probably tell where I started to try and finish this fic more, lol. You'd think I'd be able to write Dean trying not to fall asleep a little better like this, but hey. :P Anyway, I wanted to write a quick Valentine's fic involving huddling for warmth and such, but I'm not sure how well I succeeded on any of those specific points. But this was fun to write, and I hope you guys enjoy reading it! (And again, sorry about any pacing issues or any other things!)


End file.
